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March 24, 1909. THE PRESBYTER!
THE SUPPLY OF CANDIDATES.
Rev. Henry H. Sweets, Secretary.
After careful investigation, and by means of correspondence
with the chairmen of the Prcsbyterial Committees
of Education, stated clerks, the various colleges
and seminaries, and the students themselves, we are
able to present some interesting and accurate information
concerning the supply of candidates of the church,
ttp to March 1, 1909.
The Number.
Last May the Presbyteries reported to the General
Assembly 375 Candidates for the Ministry, an increase
of 40 over the previous year. January 1, iqoq. the
stated clerks reported to us 422 candidates, a further
increase of 47. over the report of the Assembly in May,
1908. We have been able to secure information concerning
414 of these.
State of Preparation.
Of the 414 candidates, 137 are in the seminary, 190 in
college, 33 in schools and academies, while 54 for the
present are at work.
Of the 137 in the theological seminaries, 42 are in the
third year class, 36 in the second, and 59 in the first.
Of the 190 in college, three are post-graduates, 46 are
in the senior class, 30 in the junior, 59 in the sophomore
and 52 in the freshman.
Whence They Come.
We have learned the occupation of the fathers of 392
of our candidates. Of these 197 have fathers who are
e
iarmers, 50 are the sons of ministers, 34 of merchants,
18 of laborers, 12 of carpenters, 8 of physicians, 8 of
manufacturers, 8 of traveling salesmen, 7 of professors,
6 of lawyers, 5 of bankers, 4 of druggists, 4 of mill men,
3 of insurance men, 3 of railroad men, 3 of newspaper
men, and three of real estate men, while the remaining
13 are the sons of men engaged in eleven different occupations.
Age at Admittance to Communion.
Of 412 candidates, 49 were admitted to communion at
ten years of age or under, 243 between the years of
eleven and fifteen inclusive, 103 between sixteen and
iwcuiy, 13 between twenty-one and twenty-five, and 4
between twenty-six and thirty.
Age at Decision.
Of 410 candidates reporting, 18 felt the call of God
to the ministry and decided to give their lives to the
work under the age of ten years, 35 between eleven and
fifteen, 227 between sixteen and twenty, 99 between
twenty-one and twenty-five, 21 between twenty-six and
thirty, 7 between thirty-one and thirty-five, and three
between thirty-six and forty years.
Place of Decision.
Of the 410 reporting, 287 decided before the\ entered
college to dedicate their lives to the ministry, 88 deci c
while in college, and 35 after leaving college.
Of the 88 deciding while in college, 5^ ^cre *n our
own Presbyterian colleges, 6 in colleges under Presby
Iterian influence, 2 in Presbyterian colleges, U. S. A., 2
in Methodist, 1 in Lutheran, 1 in Reform, and 2 in nonsectarian,
while 16 were in State institutions.
Denominations Whence They Come.
Of 413 candidates, 353 were reared in the Presby_
AN OF THE SOUTH. 7
terian church, 21 in the Methodist, 12 in the Baptist, 4
in the Presbyterian church, U. S. A., 4 in the Cumberland
Presbyterian, 3 in the Evangelical, 3 in the Christian,
3 in the Catholic, 3 in German Reformed Presbyterian,
2 in the Lutheran, 1 in the Associate Reformed
Presbyterian, 1 in the Established Church of Scotland,
1 in the Hebrew, 1 in the Union, and 1 in the Adventist.
Character of Churches.
Of the 410 candidates, 185 came from country
churches, 141 from town, and 84 from city churches.
206 of these candidates came from churches where,
services were conducted weekly, 107 semi-monthly, 18
three times a month, and 79 only monthly.
Of these, 52 candidates came from churches with a
membership of less than fifty, 125 with a membership
of 100 or under, 96 of 200 or under, 67 of 300 or under,
36 of 400 or under, 20 of 500 or under, 3 of 600 or under,
4 of 700 or under, and 7 of over 700.
Assistance Rendered.
Of the 414 candidates, 269 are receiving aid from the
Assembly's Committee. Of the 269 thus assisted, 107
are in theological seminaries, and 162 in colleges. No
assistance is triven the mnHirlates in cr1ir>r>ic mri
academies.
The maximum amount of appropriation i- $100 per
year for Sach candidate who needs this amount. Already
there has been appropriated for the year from September,
1908, to June, 1909, for 269 candidates, $26,953, an
average of about $100 each, including some special funds
handled.
Although there has been a marked increase in the
number of candidates, as yet it has not reached the
graduating class of the seminaries, and once more we
are sorry to record that almost as many ministers have
died, or have been retired on account of sickness or old
age, as there are candidates who will be graduated from
all our theological seminaries in May.
Louisville, Ky.
\
THE WORKS OF DARKNESS.
Two men board a street car, each with a transfer.
The one is used within the time limit, and is handed
to the conductor without the slightest feeling of fear.
The passenger is doing nothing for which detection
would cause him to feel ashamed. If the transfer is
folded he opens it out full length that the conductor's
eye may fall upon the punch mark given. He looks the
uniformed man straight in the face because he knows /
he is attempting to break no rule. The other man's
transfer has been dead half an hour. He is afraid the
conductor will find it out and make him pay an extra
fare, so he hunts the darkest corner in the car, folds
his transfei*to hide the punch mark, and gets very much
interested in a newspaper. He does not look up when
the conductor approaches him. Why is he so engaged
in other things? His mind is not on his newspaper,
but on the transfer and the probability that the conductor
will note the deception. Even the one on the street
car may love darkness rather than light because his
deeds are evil.?Religious Telescope.
W;